Home » Babies » Pros and Cons of Allowing Children to Use Baby Walkers

Pros and Cons of Allowing Children to Use Baby Walkers

June 12, 2018

When a child is getting ready to take his first steps, parents often wonder if their little one should use a walker. It's important to look for balance when it comes to baby walkers. Parents should avoid excessive use, but at the same time, total prohibition isn't necessary.

Baby walkers are an intermediate step between a stroller and the beginning of the crawling stage. But what effects do these walkers have on infants?

On the one hand, baby walkers surround your baby and include safety straps to keep your child from falling.

At the same time, they have small wheels underneath that allow your baby to move around freely in any direction.

3 advantages to using baby walkers

Boost your little one’s sense of independence

When a child starts to crawl or tries to walk without assistance, we as parents watch their every move. And in a way, this protective intention restricts our little one’s movements and independence.

However, when children are just beginning to crawl and walk, they need to be able to move around in a safe way.

If your child uses a baby walker, you don’t have to hover constantly, and your child can be more independent. Baby walkers help to offer security and come with guarantees.

Parents have more time for other activities

One of the reasons that moms and dads use baby walkers is because they need time to do other things.

This is important to keep parents from becoming overwhelmed. And of course, it allows them to carry our necessary tasks around the house like cooking, cleaning, etc.

Produces fun and entertainment for little ones

If you really think about it, a baby walker is like a toy for your baby. Growing babies can have hours of fun in their walkers as they experiment with their first steps and enjoy the sensation of rolling around.

And of course, these apparatuses come in a variety of bright colors and often include objects for your child to play with.

Some baby walkers double as activity centers that complement your child’s learning. Shapes, colors, sensations and even sounds are built into the walkers to make them more attractive to little ones.

Without a doubt, your child’s interactions with these accessories help contribute to her cognitive development.

3 disadvantages of using baby walkers

Contrary to popular belief, these walkers don’t stimulate the ability to walk

When your child uses a baby walker, she is receiving artificial assistance. Therefore, whatever movements they manage to accomplish while in the walker don’t compare to actual walking.

In other words, using a walker doesn’t challenge your child enough to dominate her movements. Walkers support a child’s weight, making the walking experience incomplete. In fact, some theories indicate that the use of walkers can actually produce distortions.

While there are many advantages to using walkers, children really don’t learn to walk just by using walkers. Yes, your child’s leg muscles are getting a workout, but with assistance.

Therefore, if you decide to use a walker with your child, be careful to use good measure. You shouldn’t leave your child in his walker for long periods of time, or too frequently.

While the use of a baby walker may give you the freedom to focus on other things, excessive use is counterproductive. Your child also needs to attempt walking without assistance.

“A baby walker is like a toy for your baby. Growing babies can have hours of fun in their walkers as they experiment with their first steps and enjoy the sensation of rolling around.”

Walkers can cause a delay in crawling and walking

The transition from crawling to walking occurs in the time period when most parents implement the use of walkers.

When you place your child in a walker, you delay this transition and may even obstruct your child’s development.

It’s very important that parents allow their child to properly experience each developmental stage and face each developmental milestone. Walking isn’t just a question of mobility, but of muscular development.

Baby walkers keep your child from falling, and this is also part of your little one’s development

No parent wants their children to get hurt or fall down when taking his first steps. But you need to be aware that falling, to some extent, is an important part of your child’s development.

It’s true that falling down can hurt, and it represents a sense of danger and loss of control. However, it’s an experience that allows your child to learn how to handle himself in regards to his surroundings and gravity itself.

Therefore, we want to point out that walkers aren’t the only problem. Overprotection is also an obstacle. Some parents are afraid to let go of their kids and let them walk on their own.

Of course, you need to make sure the environment is free from danger and supervise your little one at all times. However, you also need to let your child learn to walk naturally and gain confidence in this new ability.

In conclusion, the use of baby walkers can alter our children’s development. Nevertheless, there is no great danger in allowing your child to have fun using a walker from time to time.

Many women worry about what their breasts will look like after they stop breastfeeding their little ones. With this is in mind, you’ve probably asked yourself how to care for your breasts during the lactation stage. Is there a way…

African names for girls are becoming more and more popular as an option when it comes to naming babies. This isn’t that surprising, as they’re not only beautiful but they’re also full of meaning. Would you like to hear them?…

Breast engorgement is the result of breastmilk congestion in the breasts, after the birth of the baby. It happens because there’s more blood flow to the breasts, along with a high production of breastmilk. As a result, this engorgement can…

Babies grow and, little by little, develop their senses. This is the first step in the long process of the development of perception in children. Perception changes based on experiences and neurological maturity. That’s why early stimulation is so important. Early…

Breastfeeding is a miraculous process for mother and child to experience together. However, it isn’t free of complications. Using nipple shields while breastfeeding is one of the best options to mitigate possible issues. The important thing is first to determine…

One of the most frequent questions parents ask pediatricians is how many bowel movements newborns should make. In addition, they ask what the stool should be like. These concerns are completely normal. In fact, babies’ first bowel movements are very…

Many parents wonder what they need to do to encourage their children to follow a vegetarian diet. If this is your situation, then you must take into account their needs and their development. A varied diet is a healthy one.…

The ideas of pedagogue Johann Heinrich on education play an important role in modern pedagogy. Born in Zurich in 1746, Pestalozzi was an influential pedagogue and educator. He believed that a good education could act as a solution to society’s…

What and how much children eat is one of the biggest concerns among parents today. However, on occasion, in their quest to provide good nutrition, parents make some mistakes. Unfortunately, these mistakes can cause just the opposite of what they…

Every parent wants their children to be happy and healthy. Sadly, life doesn’t come with a manual and, although you’re trying your best, sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to. If your child is unhappy and…

The content in this publication is presented for informative purposes only. In no sense is this information intended to provide diagnoses or act as a substitute for the work of a qualified professional. For this we recommend that you contact a reliable specialist.

The content in this publication is presented for informative purposes only. In no sense is this information intended to provide diagnoses or act as a substitute for the work of a qualified professional. For this we recommend that you contact a reliable specialist.